Our Australia Trip 1 - Cairns

As promised ( or as forced upon ), here is the first installment of my Australia Trip report. We traveled together with 2-other families on this trip( Gopi's and Mohan's ), for a total of 6 adults, a college going boy, two girls 11-13 and two boys age 7, which made for a bit of balancing act to accommodate all interests.
This post is all about our time in Cairns.

After an excruciatingly painful 14 hour flight to Sydney on United Airlines, we endured another 6 hour wait in Sydney before boarding our plane to Cairns in the northeastern Queensland province. Aditya forgot his Nintendo DS case on the flight to Sydney, and lost all his DS games (Wink,wink!!! Hint to the plethora of aunts, uncles and grand parents for birthday gifts this year :-), although Aditya said he will buy games with his Scholarship money ).

Cairns was definitely the highlight of the trip. We landed in Cairns on the evening of 22nd. After a desperately needed shower, Aditya and I joined Gopi's family on a quest for victuals, while Srinivas unwinded in the room after dealing with the kiddo for 20+ hours. This stroll through the streets of Cairns took us to some dodgy parts of town that cater more to the backpacker crowd, and when we finally decided on a pizza parlour, the owner politely requested us to take away our food, since next door to a night club is not the most wholesome location for under 12-year olds. This walk also exposed us to the sultry Queensland weather and a profusion of sweat. On our walk back, I was thrilled to hear a sound uncommon in the Bay Area, the roosting calls of hundreds of birds settling in for the night in a big tree. We looked up find the tree full of multi-colored lorikeets.

A multi-colored Lorikeet

We started off the next day with spectacular views from our hotel balcony.

After a nice breakfast of Tadoori Vegetable Pie  at PieFace

and Rosti Brekkie(Aussie for Breakfast) Wrap at McD's, we were ready to start exploring the wonders of Queensland. 

Aditya,Krupa,Srinivas,Mukunth,Sumathi,Girija,Rohit, Anusha and Manaswini

A charter bus from Downunder Tours that Mohan engaged picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the Rainforest Skyrail’s Caravonica Terminal. Here we climbed aboard a gondola for a soaring ride over the pristine Queensland  Rainforest. We spotted a few parakeets in their nests, Rohit spotted a Koala clinging to a tree, and everyone endured the fake phobias of Aditya and Mukunth as they screamed how they were "scared" of the heights. The views were spectacular, offering rare glimpses into the canopy layers of the rainforest, multiple levels of a beautiful waterfall and winding roads through the forests.  

Pair of parakeets in a tree

After stops at red peak for a walk through the forest and at Barron Falls for a view of the waterfalls, we alighted at Kuranda, to rejoin our tour bus. Kuranda is a small native village in the hills, with shopping and wildlife viewing opportunities. We entered the Kuranda Wildlife World for the customary Koala photo ops and Kangaroo feedings.  Carrying a Koala is not quite the cuddly experience as seen in the pictures, my still present scratches as proof. Koalas are also quite heavy and stinky!!( I needed a dash of perfume). After being told he was not big enough to hold the Koala, Aditya sulked in all Koala pictures.

However, he brightened up considerably when he was allowed to hold the Python.While confident he was not scared, I was quite surprised to find him not dance with tickles as the snake ran up and down his body!!!!

From Kuranda, we boarded our chariot and drove to the Daintree rainforest, through some spectacular coastal scenery. However, all the beaches were empty, courtesy of the migration of box jellyfish, an extremely venomous creature whose sting can be fatal to humans.

We climbed aboard an electric boat to navigate the Daintree river and find some crocodiles. Aditya, as usual, spouted off animal facts and bugged the guide with questions, while the rest of party kept their eyes peeled for a crocodile sighting. We did manage to see one, however, we are doubtful of its authenticity!!!!!!!

From Daintree, we returned to our hotel for an early supper at Tandoori Oven, followed by a good night's sleep dreaming about our Christmas Eve Great Barrier Reef trip.

We woke up early next morning and walked to the pier next to our hotel to board the catamaran for the GBR.

Aditya ready to swim (with the fishes?)

You know all about the GBR trip. You can read it again here.

After returning exhausted from the trip, the kids and men returned to the hotel (sissies), while the ladies set off on a souvenir / dinner hunt. After buying a couple of souvenirs, we went in search of plain rice and yogurt for perugu annam. We found some plain rice at a Chinese restaurant and entered Woolworth's grocery store to buy yogurt. There started a love affair with Lychees that lasted until San Francisco. I was not a big fan of Lychees, having tasted bland and insipid ones in India and US. I got to know how a Lychee should be; juicy, sweet, delicate and fragrant; when I went to China. The Australian ones were close enough that Srinivas and I ate bags and bags of them during our stay.

The next morning, we said goodbye to Cairns and embarked on a Christmas Day flight to Melbourne.

More Pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/100439682375564182182/Australia2011CairnsDec2225?authkey=Gv1sRgCMqt7Z-6wfW3nQE#